Metareview: Dissidia’s Combat System

The last time I wrote about Dissidia, I focused on how the game feels like and if there were framerate issues that you should worry about. Now, I’m going to tell you about how it is as a fighting game. And yes, this will be the last time I’ll write about Dissidia short of a review.

Like I mentioned before, you fight in total 3D. You and your opponent will be jumping, double jumping, scaling walls, air-dashing from one ledge to another in an attempt to pummel each other to the ground. Or to the wall, since that applies as well. It can be confusing to get your bearings on where your opponent is but once you get used to it, it’s not too bad.

In terms of moves, you can block, jump, scale walls, dodge and attack. There are two ways to attack and only of them actual beats your opponent. The first one is called a Brave Points (BP) attack, which is done by pressing circle on the PSP. While it doesn’t kill your foe, it allows you to accumulate BP, which is then spent when you do an HP attack. These are the moves that actually hurt your opponent so use them carefully.

The BP vs HP system is a twist on the usual fight mechanics that we’re used to seeing in fighting games. When combined with the total 3D arenas, the result is a combat system that provides a good feel of what it’s like to fight in Final Fantasy. It’s fast, it’s exaggerated and it’s fun. What Square Enix created here is similar to Cloud and Sephiroth’s fight in Advent Children: aerial combat with lots of moves and flashy swordplay. There are a few rough edges but overall, it’s a decent fighter.

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